A Better Life?
by Zerkoz
Summary: **Sequel to Hello Honey** I don't own TMI, Cassandra Clare does! Jocelyn's dead, Jace is still on the loose, and with Jocelyn dead, Clary's an orphan, right? But with all of this, she finds it hard not to think about where it all began...
1. Beginnings and 911

**Hey folks! How are all of you?**

**So, not that long a wait, but hey!**

**I don't own TMI, Cassandra Clare does.**

**Summary:**

With Jocelyn dead, Jace out on the loose, and the new boy, Clary's life has taken a turn into the new, the unexpected, and the worse. Also, because Jocelyn's dead, that means she's an orphan. Right? And, with everything going on, she finds it hard not to think about how it all began...

**lIlIlIl**

**Clary's POV (Do I even need to say it anymore?)**

**lIlIlIl**

_There was knock at the door. I quickly got up, knocking over my study guides and books, and walked to the door. I turned the handle, opening it quickly as to avoid the creaking noise it usually makes._

_On the other side was Jonathan, who was wearing an expensive tuxedo with a dark blue tie. And yet there I was in an old ratty blue t-shirt and highly stained old jeans with the knees faded out._

"911. What's your emergency?"

_"Morning Clary. I have something to tell you. Follow me into a living room." He told me, in a way that sounded like a request, but I knew it was an order. So I sighed and followed him down the dark brown hallways towards the living room._

_The living room was a large, spacious room with lime green walls and a blue carpet. There were 3 large couches in the midlle of the room facing towards the fireplace on the far wall. There was a circular glass coffee table in between the couches. Overall, it looked gorgeous._

"It's my mom. She's- She's- Just hurry!"

_However, that's not what I was looking at. There were three people sitting on the middle couch. One was a large bulky man with light brown hair, grey eyes, and slight angular features. He was wearing a flannel shirt and jeans. Stephen Herondale._

_There was also a large-ish woman on the other side of the couch who had blonde hair, hazel eyes, and more slight angular features. She was wearing a large sea green dress and heels. Celine Herondale._

"What's your address?"

_And in between them was Jace. Why was he there? He's never showed up here. It's usually just Michael and Celine. He looked a bit confused at what was going on._

_"What are you doing here?" I asked cautiously._

"Um... 1256 Maple Street, the angelic motel, 3rd floor, room 3B."

_"Jace is here because he's going to be your husband." Jonathan told us, putting his hands on my shoulders._

_"WHAT?!" Jace and I asked at the same time._

"We're sending ambulances and police cars. Please remain at your location."

"DO YOU REALLY THINK THAT I'M GOING TO LEAVE MY MOM HERE?!"

"No. Just, please wait there." And with that, she ended the call.

I just sat there, crying with Michael's arms around me.

**lIlIlIl**

**So, not that much, but at least it's a chapter!**

**Still need OCs. Please look at chapter 5 for details.**

**Ever Elizabeth Dare - Shadowhunter1995**

**Michael Northstar - Greygirl2358**

**Caitlyn Delana - xoxo-vivi-xoxo**

**Joy Herondale (I have the perfect way to integrate her in, but I need a complete of her, like her likes, wants, hates, etc. Until I get these things, you'll be holding the story up a bit) - I love marshall lee**

**That's all folks!**

**~Zerkoz**


	2. Funerals Between Coffee and Cheese

**Hey! I'm back!**

**Sorry, if it weren't for my addiction with Memecenter, this probably would've been up a lot sooner.**

**lIlIlIl**

**Clary's POV**

**lIlIlIl**

Jocelyn's funeral was… What else? Depressing.

It was low-budget, since everyone I knew and the people _they _knew weren't exactly that wealthy.

We were all wearing our darkest clothes, but Ever still stuck out like a sore thumb in sort-of-dark tie-die clothes.

The casket was one of Simon's failed woodshop projects that fit Jocelyn perfectly, we were standing in a tiny little cemetery crammed between a Starbucks and a factory that produces cheese products, and Simon's band was playing the music, so of course it felt like we were burying our virginity.

We also were only able to rent the cemetery for a little bit, so only Simon, Izzy, and I were able to share about her.

"Jocelyn was a good woman. She would always invite me in for a cup of coffee with her whenever I came over to walk with Clary to school." Simon told the 'crowd'. He looked around the crowd a bit. "Stop looking at me like that, Michael." Causing a round of stifled laughter and Michael's face to flush.

"I never really met Jocelyn, but if she raised a child as awesome as Clary, then she must have been extraordinary." Isabelle announced adamantly.

"Jocelyn was a great mother. She was an amazing mother, understanding everything I've been going through, because she's been through them herself." I stated, looking around at the grieving and sad faces collected in the mini-mob. "And now that she's gone, I… I just… I just don't know what to do next. She's been there guiding me for all of my life."

We lowered the makeshift casket down into the shallow hole and covered it with a thin layer of dirt.

The group disbanded and headed in their own directions, with Michael, Simon, Izzy, and I headed back to the apartment I would soon be evicted from.

**lIlIlIl**

_**time jump**_

**lIlIlIl**

I entered the unfurnished room and sat down in a corner, with Michael sitting down next to me on my right, Simon on my left, and Izzy next to Simon.

"_WHAT?!" Jace and I asked at the same time._

"_You two are to be wed." My father told us, with a grunt of approval by Jace's hunk of a father._

"_Marry him? I hardly know him!" I exclaimed defiantly._

"_HER? She- She- She…" He appeared to catch up on what was happening and fainted, falling to the floor with a thud._

"_See what I mean?"_

"_Clary, I am your father, and if I say that you will marry Jace, you will marry Jace."_

She made a noise that was a half-scream of anger in the real world.

"What did I do?" Michael asked a bit after becoming airborn.

"Nothing. Memories." I told him.

There was a knock on the apartment door, causing our heads to snap back to the door.

"Huh." Michael stood up, walked to the door, opened it, and looked out.

Standing in the doorway were two bulky figures, who I immediately recognized.

"Hello. We're here to collect our daughter-in-law." A feminine voice said.

They were Celine and Stephen.

**lIlIlIl**

**Yep. That's right. She's gonna live with the Herondales.**

**Still need OCs.**

**Ever Elizabethe Doyle – Shadowhunter1995**

**Michael Northstar – Greygirl2358**

**Caitlyn Delana – xoxo-vivi-xoxo**

**Joy Herondale – I love marshall lee**


	3. Grim news and car trips

**Hey! I'm back!**

**I know that this will sound a bit rude, or cocky, or arrogant, but I think that it would be cool if there was art for this fanfiction! I'd still be okay no matter what, but I just think that it would be awesome!**

**lIlIlIl**

**Clary's POV**

**lIlIlIl**

I sat there in the back of the van, with the landscape moving by us.

I didn't want to go with them, but after a look-through of a book of laws, we realized that there wasn't anything that we could do.

So there I was, sitting in the back of their Honda, driving towards what would almost surely by my worst nightmare brought to life.

"So, Clary. How's your week been?" Celine asked me, barely glancing back.

"Well, my abusive husband who I was forced to marry came back, my two best friends found out, my mother died, we had a very low-budget funeral for her that was just disrespectful, and now I'm in the back of my parent-in-laws' van headed towards their house where my abusive husband no doubt waits. You know, the usual?" I stated in my usual sarcastic tone.

"You should be grateful! We saved you from becoming homeless! You'd be sitting on the street with a plastic mug if it wasn't for us!"

"You saved me how? By forcing me to marry Jace? Well I've got two things for you! One, Jace was abusive and probably still is, causing me more pain then being homeless would be! And two, none of the money even went to me, anyway! Jonathan took all of it, to pay for his expensive suits while I was stuck with the exact same outfit for the rest of my life! So even though you think that you've been helping me, you haven't! You've turned my life into a living hell! And I want out of this car!"

"Hmph! Disrespectful little girl!"

"Oh, and what's my punishment? No desert for a week? YOU COULDN'T MAKE MY LIFE ANY WORSE EVEN IF YOU TRIED!"

They didn't respond. They just closed the tiny door they had in between the front seats and the back seats and continued driving.

But I had one thing on my mind that kept me positive. I would meet my brother again. I thought back to when he left.

_I was about 4 at the time. He was about 6. I watched as Jonathan handed Sebastian over to Stephen and Celine, wondering what was going on._

_I looked up to my mother, who had apparently been crying._

"_What's going on, Mommy?" I asked her._

"_Sebastian's leaving. He's going to live with the Herondales." She answered sadly._

"_But why? Why does he have to leave?"_

"_Because we don't have enough food."_

"_But Father's always eating expensive food. How do we not have enough food?"_

"_His food is his food. Our food is our food."_

_I turned towards the doorway where Sebastian and the Herondales were walking away._

"_Bye." I said quietly._

"We're here." Stephen grunted, snapping me out of my memory.

We got out of the car, and headed up the hill that their house was on.

I'm not sure that the word 'house' covers it, more like 'Small mansion'.

It had marble walls with gold framing and large oak doors, with a garden that would make flower goddesses jealous surrounding it.

There was also a little run-down shack with blackened walls and a crumbling roof next to it. That was probably her room.

We walked up the hill, to the front door. When we got there, Stephen opened them.

Inside was a large room with tall ceilings and windows with luxurious furniture scattered around and giant beautiful pieces of art.

"CLARY'S HERE!" Celine yelled down the giant hall with multiple rooms.

2 people ran into the room.

One was a teenage girl with blonde hair, golden eyes, and a bright and happy face.

"Hi! I'm Joy!" She told me happily. Must've been a while since a girl around her age came around.

And the other was Jace, who was wearing a nice white flannel shirt, a jacket, dark grey trousers, and formal boots. Did his parents really have THAT much of an effect on him?

"Hello Honey." He said in a calm tone. Wow. They're better than I thought.

"Hello. Um… Where's Sebastian? Where's my Brother?" I asked.

"Oh. Sebastian." Joy said grimly.

"Sebastian's dead." Stephen told me bluntly.

**lIlIlIl**

**Yep.**

**Joy's in!**

**And I actually think that I have enough OCs…**

**Ever Elizabeth Doyle – Shadowhunter1995**

**Michael Northstar – Greygirl2358**

**Caitlyn Delana – xoxo-vivi-xoxo**

**Joy Herondale – I love Marshall Lee**


	4. Special - Jace and Clary find out

**Hello!**

**This is just a little novelty chapter about Clary and Jace from the actual Mortal Instruments world (Post COLS) finding out about this fanfiction series…**

**~Novelty~**

The boy with golden hair and eyes sat in front of the camera, appearing slightly pleased with himself.

"You see, Clary? I can get these things to work." He said looking over his shoulder.

A girl with fiery red hair and emerald green eyes sat down next to him.

"Okay Jace. I guess I owe you 5 bucks." She told him.

"I'll collect later."

He turned towards the camera.

"So, people who read this story, I recently found this link-"

"Magnus e-mailed it to you."

"Right. Magnus sent me the link to this website, what was it? ?"

"I believe so."

"Knew it." Clary rolled her eyes. "And I found this story-"

"WE found it."

"Yes. WE found it. And it intrigued—US! It intrigued us! So we searched for the first story, Hello Honey."

"And we started reading it."

"Yes we did. And it was, to say the least, interesting."

"Very."

"And Jocelyn also got the link from Magnus and found the same exact story, _A Better Life? _intriguing her because it said that she was dead. And I was already on her bad side, and the story didn't help that help that much."

"Simon was stuck in half-laughs for most of it when he found it…"

"I'm not sure what Sebastian thought of it, since we e-mailed the link to the story to him, I still don't know why, but I can just imagine his reaction."

"Luke almost ripped out Jace's throat."

"Izzy was mad about her small part and now keeps on shooting me weird looks whenever I see her."

"Alec was banging his head on the desk repeatedly."

"Maia has been refusing to speak to me."

"Jordan followed suit."

"And Magnus has been beating himself up for the fact that he started this mayhem, and for someone other reason that I just can't place…"

"So, to sum it up,"

"Screw you Zerkoz. Screw you and your story." They said at the same time.

**~Novelty~**

**That's it!**

**I'm not going to put the OC list here, since it wasn't an actual chapter.**


	5. Hydrogen Peroxide and cops

**Hey people! I'm back!**

**It's been a while and the delay had NOTHING to do with fending off the cast of Mortal Instruments and locking them in my closet with a bunch of turtles.**

**And I am currently building shields for a chapter probably coming soon. Positive comments help!**

**lIlIlIl**

**Clary's POV**

**lIlIlIl**

It felt like all of my breath was being sucked out of my lungs into the air. I hit the ground and started crying.

I had never really known him, but to know that he died and no one told me before… It just devastated me.

Celine sighed above me. "Stephen, please remind me why we need our whiny daughter-in-law?" She asked her brutal husband.

"Because she is mine." Said Jace smoothly while lifting me up and staring into my eyes.

"Get off of me." I protested, squirming in his grasp.

"Come on." He swept me off of my feet and carried me away bridal-style.

I could barely hear Celine's next sentence to her husband.

"It works, you know. Our failure of a son with Jonathan's bitchy daughter."

If Jace heard her, he didn't show it. He just kept on walking.

He walked down a golden-painted hallway and through a salmon-pink door into his room.

He laid me down on his bed and pinned me down with his weight.

"Hello Honey." He whispered into my ear.

"Get off of me." I repeated while trying to push him off.

"Come on, you know you want to be with me."

"No! You killed my Mom!"

"You mean Jocelyn? She was keeping us apart."

"SHE WAS THE REASON WHY I DIDN'T KILL MYSELF YEARS AGO!"

"You wouldn't do that. After all, you love me."

"THAT IS NOT TRUE! GET OFF OF ME!"

I pushed my weight up against him and flipped him off of the bed. He hit the mahogany floor with a loud _thud_.

"You got stronger." He barely seemed out of breath.

"Yeah. I've had time."

He stood up quickly and glared into my eyes. A psychotic grin was plastered onto his face.

"It just makes me want you even more."

"Go away."

"But why? You're mine."

An eerie pause.

"Oh. That reminds me. I never finished my work, didn't I?"

I gasped and backed away on all fours, only to fall off the bed with a soft _boom_.

"Ouch…."

Jace leaped over the bed and landed in front of me. He held my head up with his hand and smiled mischievously.

"Don't worry. I'll make you forget it soon enough."

I tried to squirm away but he grasped my arm firmly and pulled out a knife. I couldn't see much, but I did see designs of herons on it….. And a clear liquid dripping off.

"Hydrogen peroxide." He stabbed the knife into my palm, which not only brought the familiar jab of pain, but also stung unbearably, like a thousand hornets crawled into her veins. "Stings like Hell, doesn't it?"

**lIlIlIl**

**?'s POV**

**lIlIlIl**

I looked around the vacant room in the hotel. I was a part of the police squad assigned to this crime.

I smiled, thinking back at the times that I shared with the victim, Jocelyn Morgenstern Fairchild Fray. None of those were middle names.

I smiled even more when thinking back at the times that I had shared her daughter, Clarissa 'Clary' Morgenstern Fairchild Fray Herondale. Again, none of those were last names.

I smiled a lot, but stopped when I remembered that I wasn't living in those memories. I was investigating Jocelyn's murder, the prime suspect being Clary's…. Technically-not-but-morally-ex-husband. Strange things happen in your late teens I guess.

My smile dropped even more when I remembered what events lead up to me joining the force.

I decided to put that off and investigate the crime scene. But before I did, I smiled a little, knowing that I would meet Clary again.

**lIlIlIl**

**I'M NOT DEAD YET! HONEST! THIS IS NOT A GHOST TALKING! PROBABLY!**

**And I know **_**that **_**I said that I wasn't accepting any more OCs, but this one person gave me an idea that I had a perfect way to fit it into the story. But I mean it! No more OCs!**

**Ever Elizabeth Doyle – Shadowhunter1995**

**Michael Northstar – Greygirl2358**

**Caitlyn Delana – xoxo-vivi-xoxo**

**Joy Herondale – I love Jace Lightwood**

**? - ?**

**IT SHALL REMAIN A MYSTERY! AND I HOPE THAT NONE OF YOU WILL SEARCH '?' IN THE AUTHOUR SEARCH BAR! BECAUSE I DON'T THINK THAT ONE EXISTS!**


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